Neighbor hit my car, small claims or insurance?

[kennyc]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? --- California Law

Hello,
3 days ago my neighbor backed into my car. I wasn't there to witness it but 3 of my friends were outside saw him. They quickly called me out of the house. He profusely apologized and kept claiming that the damage was small. He had to go to church so I let him go and we could settle this another time.

Today I saw him again and asked him what's up, he prompty went over to a car I was working on and wanted to explain that the damage was from before (He was looking at the wrong car, obviously had no idea what he was talking about) After I pointed out the car he actually hit, he kept telling me that both the scratches on his car and the scratches on my car were from previous occasions (Even though they match up in height).

Can I take him to Small Claims INSTEAD of getting an insurance claim from him? I know with another claim on my insurance it will raise my rates dramatically.

I'm pretty confident I can pull a good case together, I'm just not sure how this would work since we both have car insurance.

Oh and no police report has been filed yet either.

Thanks!

 

[justalayman]

Yes you can and you do realize that any accident with over $750 damage must be reported to the DMV within 10 days, right? Not sure that would apply to you as you were not in a motor vehicle accident but it would apply to the guy that hit you. It doesn't take much to reach $750 in damages anymore. If he fails to report it, I believe his license would be suspended. You might want to contact them to make sure it doesn't apply to you.


anyway, yes, you can just sue the guy. He can turn it over to his insurance company if he wants and they will step in for him. They would likely pay out your damages but no guarantees.

 

[kennyc]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that.

My main concern is that if his insurance company steps in at any point, I don't want it reflected on my premium.

 

[justalayman]

My main concern is that if his insurance company steps in at any point, I don't want it reflected on my premium.

Nothing you can really do about that short of paying out of your pocket should the guy refuse to pay willingly.

 

[latigo]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that.

My main concern is that if his insurance company steps in at any point, I don't want it reflected on my premium.

That doesn’t make good logic.

That is unless you can come up with a convincing explanation as to how the involvement of his liability insurance carrier - “stepping in” as you put it - in anyway could affect the relationship between you and the company with whom you are insured?

The guy apologetically admitted to you that he negligently rammed your parked vehicle!

So get your estimates and if he refused to pay, then take him to small claims and let him try to prove how "small the damage" was; that it was pre-existing; and decide whether to make a claim and expect an increase in his premiums. It won’t affect yours.

 

[George1776]

That doesn’t make good logic.

That is unless you can come up with a convincing explanation as to how the involvement of his liability insurance carrier - “stepping in” as you put it - in anyway could affect the relationship between you and the company with whom you are insured?

The guy apologetically admitted to you that he negligently rammed your parked vehicle!

So get your estimates and if he refused to pay, then take him to small claims and let him try to prove how "small the damage" was; that it was pre-existing; and decide whether to make a claim and expect an increase in his premiums. It won’t affect yours.

Those parked cars are a road hazard! But yes, the OP can go small claims. Just because you have insurance does not mean you have to use it.